Your alarm clock may clang, beep or buzz. Your clock radio may suddenly fill your ears with the voice of some radio DJ who is MUCH too cheerful for that hour in the morning. Your wake-up call may be the insistent cry of a hungry baby. Or just maybe you are one of those lucky ones who LOVE mornings. You pop out of bed with a smile on your face, ready to go!

However you start off your day, ultimately what you DO with that day is up to you. You may not be able to choose between a 12-hour shift at the factory or a leisurely day at the beach. That decision may already be laid out for you. But, just as you choose what clothing you will wear for the day, you also choose which attitude you will put on. Will you choose today to put on a Christ-like attitude – positive, purposeful, and putting others first? Or will you choose to be pouty, pushy, and petty? Will you take time today to spend with your Lord, renewing your mind and refreshing your spirit or will you try it on your own, reasoning that you just don’t have the time?

At times, you may feel like controlling your attitude is out of your control. You may get caught up in thinking about your past. Regrets and feelings of guilt can weigh you down. You carry that baggage around with you wherever you go. You may struggle with fears of what the future may hold. Anxiety nearly paralyzes you. Or maybe you are always dreaming of the great things you are going to do … tomorrow. And yet, tomorrow never comes!

All you have is today – the present. The past cannot be undone. As you bring your past before your Lord, He can use those circumstances, whether good or bad, to mold your character. You cannot control the future. Much of what you fear will never actually happen. Your anxiety will not stop something from happening anyway. But your Lord is also Lord of the future. Even THERE, He is present!

The question you face, then, is what will you do with today? As you yawn, stretch, slip on your house shoes and shuffle toward the kitchen to get the coffee perking or the water boiling for that cup of tea, remember this old saying … “Today is a gift from God – that’s why it is called the present!”

Excellent thoughts, Donna. I like the descriptive yet light-hearted way you begin this article. One place you might clarify is in P.3 first sentence: "At times, you may feel like it is out of your control." - What is out of your control - your attitude? your life? All in all - well done. Now to put it into practice tomorrow morning! ~ Violet